Hardcore birdwatching along the Big Sur coast is a very recent
phenomena.
Pioneer ornithologists visited the southern Big Sur coast early in the
20th century (Jenkins 1906, Pemberton & Carriger 1915) and Joseph
Grinnell
visited the Little Sur River canyon around that same time (Grinnell
1902).
Scenic Highway 1 was built 1933-1937 and many tourists visited
thereafter.
Dr. J. W. Tilden compiled a list in 1948 of the birds of Bixby Canyon
(thanks
to David Suddjian for sending me this resource). Various state parks
came
into existence; Andrew Molera State Park was opened in 1974. Research
reserves
for graduate studies were opened farther south, and some have been
surveyed
for birds by students (e.g., Cull & Melchert 1980). These various
surveys,
however, only touched on the regular avifauna and did not tap into the
wealth of vagrants which we now know visit the Big Sur coast,
particularly
in spring & fall migrations.

The first superb vagrants were at eclectic locales scattered
along the coast: a Prothonotary Warbler 3-7 Dec 1967 at Willow Creek —
well south of Big Sur town; a wayward Wood Stork on private "Rancho
Grande" 10-31 July 1976; and a Chimney Swift over another "Rancho
Grande" pond on 19-26 Aug 1984. Only an Orchard Oriole found dead on
private property near the Big Sur R. mouth in Dec 1965 hinted at the
riches at that locale.

The "discovery" of the Big Sur R. mouth as a vagrant trap
dates from 21 Sep 1981 when Peter Metropulos & John Sterling
discovered an Ovenbird, Chestnut-sided and Blackburnian warblers along
the Big Sur River in Andrew Molera State Park. A couple friends and I
visited the headlands that same week (26 Sep 1981) and found a Sage
Thrasher, Tropical Kingbird and several lesser vagrants (e.g., Palm
Warbler). From then on, the Big Sur R. mouth area was checked by local
birders each fall, and regularly by visitors like Jeri Langham, Peter
Metropulos, and Doug George. The latter found a male Vermilion
Flycatcher 14 June 1989, alerting us to the potential for spring/summer
rarities as well.

The Big Sur Ornithology Lab (BSOL) opened in 1992, and their
daily surveys and constant-effort bird-banding revolutionized our
understanding of the Big Sur River mouth's potential. Over 375 species
have now been recorded in the Molera/Pt. Sur vicinity and the
bird-banding operations have added a variety of first county records
and one first California record (Arctic Warbler 13 Sep 1995). Check out
a gallery of rarity photos from BSOL and the Molera/Pt. Sur vicinity HERE. Davis
& Roberson (1996, 2000) compiled a pocket bar-graph annotated
checklist that includes the entire Big Sur coastal watershed. The
complete list for our area (the more more limited Molera/Pt. Sur
vicinity) is HERE.

MOLERA/PT. SUR -- the 300 Club

Since we have learned that the Big Sur R. mouth vicinity is a
great
for vagrants, many birders check the locale regularly. BSOL staff have
been most active and the top three birders in the area have spent much
time bird-banding there. Jeff Davis was the first to break the "300"
barrier
on the official Molera/Pt. Sur list. Now the "300 Club" has five
members.
Their lists (totals updated to 31 Dec 2006) are below but the photos
are
arranged clockwise from top left in the order they entered the club: